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Bent my Macbook Pro :(

T

toppernh

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 11, 2009
29
0
Nashua, NH
A rushed morning on Wednesday and a fall from a kitchen island has left me with a bent Macbook Pro. It fell from the island in that typical slow motion fashion that happens when things like this happen. I tried to catch it but I couldn't. It was powered off inside a InCase neoprene case. I checked it out and it looked fine, no obvious dents or a broken screen so I thought I dodge a bullet. When I got to work & power it up, it started fine but the Super Drive was making some awful noise moving around but when it stopped it worked fine and hasn't made noise since. I think it was just resetting itself. It wasn't until that evening when it was on my desk that I noticed it was rocking corner to corner :( I checked it on some other surfaces hoping it was my desk but it wasn't. The case is warped by about 1mm. I put a vinyl bumper in one corner so it doesn't rock when I type. Looking more carefully I found the display lid was bent towards the back in the right rear corner as well. Apple told me that it would be $600 to fix the warped top case. I also found MyService in CA that would replace the top case for $295 including shipping. I'm torn whether I should send it off to be fixed or since it is still working, keep using it the way it is & save that money to get a new one when the Macbook Pro is next refreshed and then eBay this one for what I can get for it.
I'm kinda nervous about replacing it because I thought my display was great - I don't know if Macbook Pros have the issue of some displays being good and some bad like the Macbooks do - and it has a Hitachi hard drive, which I have had great luck with in the past, and a replacement might not have as good parts.
I just recently switch from a PC to Mac - I was so happy with my Macbook Pro but now I feel like all the excitement has been lost.
 
I haven't taken any pictures because it is hard to take a picture of the case warp and even the bent display corner is kinda hard to see. I'll have to try & take some. If it wasn't for the rocking when I type I wouldn't be so bothered.
 
Re: Bent MBP

Sorry to hear of your MBP's fall. Thanks for letting this forum know, so that we can all learn from that experience.

You may find additional self-help options at http://ifixit.com/

If you don't mind, was yours one of the UniBody MBPs or one of the previous series?

I have both, and, while the newer one feels much more solid, I wonder whether that would have made a difference in circumstances like what you describe. There are some regions where the metal in the UniBody MBPs is just as thin as in the earlier MBPs. These include the top, where I might have expected it, and the sides, where I would not.

I have seen one instance of a very slightly dented first-generation UniBody MBP where the removable battery inside was offset almost imperceptibly - but would no longer charge! The bump hit one of those thin regions on the side.

Perhaps the later generation UniBody MBPs have a little more space between the non-removable battery and would not have this vulnerability.

If I may offer one piece of eBay advice, please emphasize (even overemphasize) the incident, (inciDENT?) in the listing so that the buyer will have no basis to complain. (Years ago I wrote a classified ad for my totaled automobile at a low price. Its engine ran. I was deluged by callers who took a running engine to mean a usable vehicle. Somehow, "totaled" just did not communicate.)

Thanks for giving us your experience and good luck with the repair and or replacement.

Mark Frautschi
 
My Macbook Pro is a unibody version with the non-removable battery.

I will make sure I describe what happened & include pictures if & when I ebay the Macbook Pro. Thanks for the advice! I definitely don't want someone come back complaining they did know.

I looked at ifixit but the top case is $300 just for the part so I would probably send it to MyService for the same price and let them do the work.

I wish I had a better idea what the next update of the Macbook Pro will be - it would make it easier to decide if I should do something now or wait.
 
That's a tough call--and it really depends on your financial position. However, I think I'd have it fixed by Apple for $600. It's a relatively new machine and having it fixed by Apple would be sure to restore the warranty should something else fail on it in the future. If that other repair center you mentioned is apple authorized you could do that since its cheaper. I believe any authorized repair center would restore the warranty as well but check on that. If the repair center is not authorized I'd be nervous about that--and I really don't think you should take on this type of repair yourself.

If you sold it on ebay as is--you'd have to disclose the fall and the damage which would get a lower price.
 
Thanks for the advice! I kinda have to agree it would be worth fixing since it is so new.

MyService is an authorized Apple repair center so I should be fine using them. And they typically turn around in a day - I don't think going through Apple would be that quick. MyService also will be one day shipping back & forth for $79 which would make things go even faster.
 
I'm going to go ahead with send it to MyService to get fixed. I'm not going to get the display lid replaced since it is over $800 since they have to replace the whole thing and the bend in the lower right corner is almost impossible to see. I'm sure the top case will need to be replace to fix the warp.
MyService gets good reviews. I hope everything goes smoothly.
 
That sucks, I know that feeling.

I've had a similar misadventure on Wednesday. I dropped it while it was in my InCase on to concrete floor. The drop was about 0.5 m, the sleeve had protected it from scratches, but the case was bent.

It was a heart stopping moment when I pulled it out of the sleeve and saw the section of the body just under the CD drive was bent inward by about 4 mm. This had also caused the bottom plate to flex downward, increasing the MBP's thickness.

Fortunately, I really did dodge a bullet. When I got home, I disassembled it, and was able to bend the case back into it's original shape. It was tricky surgery because I had to remove the CD drive, which was pinned down by the bent section of the case. It worked out for me, there is no sign of impact and everything still works. And a relief, because usually when I repair electronics, I make it worse.

I'm just glad it landed on such an easy to mend spot. If it had landed on the side with the ports I would have needed a new unibody case because that Ethernet port is a massive weak spot. And maybe a new logic board because the ports are all connected directly to it.

I was so worried, I forgot to take pics, sorry.
 
Bent computer

I sent my bent computer to MyService on Tuesday and got it back today (Friday). They did a great repair job. My top case was replaced. It felt good to have my machine back as good as new. For free they run a complete diagnostic on the computer and mine passed. Great work by great folks.

http://www.myservice.com/macbookpro.html

scroll down to case repair
 
michael.lauden said:
pics or it didn't happen!
Click to expand...


I hate when people say this!!! what in the world would this guy have to gain by making up this elaborate story about how it bent and what specifically is wrong. it just makes no sense, and some people, myself included, would not be able to bring myself to taking photos of the horror for others entertainment.
 
I agree it is annoying. I stated earlier that it is hard to take a picture of the damage. The bent in the display lid is so small that I didn't notice it until the Apple Genius pointed it out. And I have no idea how you take a picture of the whole Macbook rocking from one corner to the other. When you push down one corner the diagonally opposite corner is 1mm off the surface.
I think I'm just going to live with it as it is and pass it on to my young kids when I'm ready to get a new one. We were going to get them an iMac but they are ready use my Macbook Pro & my wife's aluminum Macbook. It will be over kill for what they do buy at least if something happens to it again it won't hurt as bad.
 
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